'Hounds' U'selis Enjoying Winning Football Games

During his high school career at Pennridge, Steve U'Selis was on the winning side in just three games.

U'Selis experienced a complete turnaround in his freshman season at Moravian last year when he helped the Greyhounds win seven games.

He was part of another turnaround Saturday when his return to the Moravian lineup at guard helped to revitalize the 'Hound offensive line in an impressive 28-14 win over Wilkes.

"It just felt great to be back ... I had six weeks of energy pent up in one body," said U'Selis, who went down in the second day of preseason camp with a dislocated knee cap.

"To be injured in the second day of practice after working hard all summer was a real downer. I was upset watching our first few games. I wanted to play so bad, but I knew if I came back too fast, I couldn't help anybody."

As it turned out, U'Selis still came back two weeks ahead of schedule after rigorous rehabilitation. He couldn't have picked a better spot to return.

In what may have been the pivotal game of the Moravian season, U'Selis and Co. took command up front in the second half. In a strong 30-minute stint, the line chilled the heat they have been getting from opposing defenses and critics alike.

"The offensive line has been taking a lot of flak from different people who doubted whether we could get the job done," said the 5-foot-11, 210-pound sophomore. "I think we showed everybody what we could do."

With the line opening up some holes for the ground game and affording quarterback John Mattes precious extra seconds of protection, the 'Hounds were able to compile 396 yards of offense.

"Those guys up front never stopped working," said head coach Scot Dapp. "The thing that had frustrated us was the mental mistakes. We cut down on them greatly on Saturday. Now, we can take people out, put people in and all the pressure isn't on the same four or five guys for the entire game."

Dapp said his probable starting lineup against Juniata Saturday at Steel Field will have Jason Brechbill, returning from an injury, at center; U'Selis and Jim Tobin at the guards; Doug Durepo at tight end and Art Lauri and Aaron Boutiette at the tackles.

Last week, Tobin played at center and freshmen Matt Bendekovits and Shawn Gallagher, both of Northampton, rotated at a guard position. Shane Lamas, a frosh lineman from Easton, is also expected to see increased playing time.

"Gallagher and Bendekovits are both real solid players who are fitting into the program real well," U'Selis said. "We've got a number of young guys coming along. I'm not worried about them at all."

But is U'Selis worried about Juniata, which is 2-0 in the Middle Atlantic Conference and coming off a 13-7 win over Widener -- the same team that beat a moribound Moravian club 16-7 a week earlier?

"There's going to be a lot of hype about them because they're undefeated in the conference," he said. "I know they have an All-American defensive tackle in Joe Kimmel.

"On our line, we're never going to overpower anybody with our size. We've just got to keep the mental mistakes to a minimum and get nasty."

And if the 'Hounds become the MAC's "Nasty Boys," opponents will find playing Moravian a very nasty assignment. Just ask Wilkes.

"We had to decide what kind of team we're going to be. I think we showed what kind of team we can be in the second half of the Wilkes game," U'Selis said.

"All I know is that I love winning. Playing at Pennridge (along with 'Hounds defensive back/punter Brett Ziegler), I didn't know what winning was all about. Last year, we won and it felt so good. Now, I want to win all the time."

HOUND SOUNDS -- Award winners for the week: Jim Tobin, offense; Jim Knoeller, defense; Chris Cognetti, special teams; Brad Light and Eric Gwiazdowski, scout team offense; Rob Hennessy, scout team defense ... LB Eric Pecha is out with a knee injury. DB Shane Hollawell is banged up, but expected to play ... Dapp on Juniata: "They have a new coach (Chris Coller), but they haven't made a lot of drastic changes. They're trying to establish themselves without getting too fancy. We expect a hard football game. We can't worry about them as much as we have to worry about ourselves. I just hope they want to improve on what they accomplished in last week's game. If they feel that's all the harder we have to work, then we're in trouble."